Ray Villafane's PumpkInspiration

The first time I saw pumpkin soup served in a carved-out pumpkin bowl, I thought pumpkin carving had reached its evolutionary end. But with a series of recent and deserved accolades everywhere from a NY Botanical Garden to the Wall Street Journal, Ray Villafane has breathed new life into the old, triangle cut-out craft.

Villafane, whose works range from DC comic heroes to sand and pumpkin sculptures, is a master at the kind of dark humor that is perfect for Halloween. And although his work has comic notes, its skillfulness demands that he be taken seriously. The last time I was as transfixed by another's carvings as I am by Villafane's, I was standing outside Paris' Gates of Hell. Perhaps Villafane should work on an orange version of the famed entryway next.